Take care of them, won't you?
by Smokin'InkSpills
Summary: Percy and Annabeth leave their three kids in the care of none other than Nico di Angelo. Can he survive watching over them? Duh. He's a son of Hades, for Zeus' sake. Rated T for paranoia. Edited.
1. Chapter 1

"Percy, we're going to be late!" Annabeth Chase shouted up the staircase. She sighed. Even after all these years, he was still considered the hero who saved Olympus, but honestly, sometimes he acted as if he were still twelve.

"I'm coming! Just a sec," he called back. Annabeth sighed. That meant he was going to take at least half an hour. Just as she was starting to have a seat, the doorbell rang. She stood up and hoped beyond hope it was who she thought it was. She opened the door and was relieved to see her cousin, Nico, standing there.

"Thank the gods you actually made it on time," she said letting him in. "Thank you so much for doing this on such short notice."

"No problem—" he began, but Annabeth cut him off.

"Ok. So, there are the basic things," she said as she gestured for him to sit down. He did and tried to remember what she was about to say. "Dinner at seven; bed by nine. Its all written on the fridge. Also, make them do their homework. Luke will start to complain and make excuses, of course…"

"Wait. Who?"

Annabeth looked at him in surprise. "Luke. My eldest son." Seeing the confused expression on Nico's face, she sighed and turned to face the staircase again. "Luke! Bianca! Charlie! Get down here. We have a guest!" She turned back to face Nico.

"I like their names," he said smirking.

"Yes, well, Percy did too," she replied smiling. "Kids, we have a guest!" she shouted again and sighed. "So, where was I? Oh, right. So, dinner, homework, bed…did I miss anything?"

Nico started to answer, when they heard footsteps on the stairs. He stood up to see a girl of about twelve years old standing at the foot of the stairs. She had her mother's stormy gray eyes and her father's black hair. A second later, a boy appeared behind her. He looked exactly identical to the girl, save for his green eyes and brown hair. He was even the same height.

Annabeth gave Nico a small smile, and walked over to them. "Nico, these are Charlie and Bianca. They're twins. Kids, this is your uncle. He'll be watching over you while your father and I are out."

"Hi," he said. He had to admit he was a tad nervous. He was never really good with kids, and it didn't help when they were looking at him weird.

Bianca was first to answer. Her hair was tied back and she was wearing those goggles chemists would wear when dealing with chemicals. "Hello," she said waving cheerfully. She turned to Annabeth. "Hey, mom, I kinda need to go finish something—"

"Bianca Jackson. This is the first time you meet your uncle. The experiments can wait."

"But mom—"

"No buts. Charlie?" she turned to her son. "Same goes for you."

"I don't do experiments," he muttered.

"Just say hello, Charlie."

"Hello," he mumbled.

Nico nodded in his direction. Charlie was staring daggers at him, and his mouth was set in a thin line. Annabeth sighed. "Bianca, dear, will you please call—" the rest of her sentence was drowned out by her own yelp of surprise, as a flash of silver came zooming down the stairs and towards Nico. He stood frozen and staring at the black hilt of a dagger, which had impaled itself in the wooden front door just millimeters from his face.

Annabeth, on the other hand, looked furious. Her face was flushed and she was shaking with fury. "LUKE!" she screamed. A blonde haired boy came running down the stairs, and for a second, Nico's hand itched to take out his sword out of the cloak he was wearing.

"Oh, my god, oh, my god, oh, my god," he said, looking at the dagger and Nico with an agitated look on his face. "Dude, I am _so_ sorry. Are you ok?"

"Don't worry about it. I'm fine," he said quietly. Now that Nico got a better look at him, his instincts relaxed. The boy looked like something between a punk and an Englishman. His hair was sticking up like he'd been shocked, and he wore a long, moth-eaten frock coat with a million pockets and a black t-shirt under it. He had an empty scabbard hanging on the waistline of his ripped jeans.

Annabeth was beside herself with anger."WHAT DID I TELL YOU ABOUT USING WEAPONS IN THE HOUSE?" she shouted. "YOU COULD HAVE KILLED HIM!"

"At least he's still alive," Luke said, obviously relieved. He gave Nico a searching look. "Um, who are you, exactly? And why are you wearing a cape?"

Nico took the dagger out of the door and examined it. "I am your uncle, but you can call me Nico. And this is a cloak, not a cape. We're not superheroes you know."

Luke looked at him again. Not only did he have Annabeth's eyes, but he even looked like her, if not for the scar that ran down his left cheek to the top of his neck.

Before Nico could comment, Percy came down the stairs wearing a suit. "Hey, Nico," he said and shook his hand. Then he turned to Annabeth. "Annabeth dear, care to explain why I could hear your voice from the bathroom?"

"Luke was throwing knives again."

"It's a dagger," Luke mumbled.

"Luke, don't answer back to your mother. And how many times did we tell you not to use weapons in the house?"

"You're the one to talk. I found a sword in your office the other day, dad. _A sword_. And you're telling _me_ not to use weapons?"

Percy shifted uncomfortably. "That's enough. Now listen to what your mother has to say."

Luke was about to protest, but seemed to think better of it. Annabeth smiled at the way Percy could calm their children down as easily as his father could the ocean. A feat she was nowhere near achieving. "Alright. Luke, Nico is going to watch over you three for the few hours that your father and I are out. So, we're going to have to make a few changes. So no experiments," she looked at Bianca, "or going into the basement," at Luke, "and you will do each and every thing Nico asks of you. Is that clear?"

"Not really," Luke said. He just couldn't seem to shut up. "Why are you getting a babysitter? I'm fifteen, I can take care of myself."

"Nico is not a babysitter. And its not a question of whether or not you can take care of yourselves. I know you all can, but this is important."

"Why?" Charlie asked.

She leaned down and gently touched his face. "It just is. You have to trust us."

Charlie looked at his mother in confusion, but Nico thought he knew why they were so worried. Being the children of demigods was not something their neighbors had experience in, so if anything happened, normal mortals like them wouldn't know how to deal with it. He on the other hand, had experience in fighting everything from monsters to titans. Plus, he had the cool cloak.

"Ok," Charlie said simply.

"Ok," Annabeth repeated, smiling. "So, we're going now," she and Percy gave each child a kiss, though Luke pulled away complaining that he was too old for that.

"Bye," she said, waving.

"Bye," the three children replied in unison.

"I'll take you to the car," Nico offered. What he really wanted was to ask something that was nagging his mind for a while now. As the three walked across the lawn to the car they were silent.

Before Nico had the chance to say anything, however, Annabeth turned to look at him. "Don't worry about them doing anything crazy. Bianca's experiments usually turn out alright. She has a knack for those kind of things. And Luke won't do anything around you now, having nearly killed you."

"What about Charlie?" Nico asked.

Annabeth bit her lip. Finally she said, "thing is, Nico, we decided not to tell them about…well, you know. Anything. Luke and Bianca are doing fine, even though Luke's dyslexic. No monsters around them at all, though, thank the gods. But Charlie…well lets just say he might as well be a demigod, the way things are going for him."

"He's clear-sighted?" Nico asked surprised.

"He must be. This is his seventh school in seven years," Percy said.

"Like father like son," Nico said smirking.

"Oh, be quiet Nico," Percy retorted.

"Basically, we just need you to keep them alive until we get back, ok?" Annabeth said.

"Sure thing," Nico replied, as she opened the door and got in the car.

"Oh, and Nico?" Percy said.

"Yeah?"

"Try and get through to Charlie. We've tried, but being his parents, he wouldn't listen to us."

"I'll try. And try not to have to resort to weapons and mist," he replied smiling.

"Thanks. Same goes for you." And with that, he got in the car, started it, and drove away. Nico looked after them for a minute, then started walking back to the house. He had a bad feeling about this.

**A/N: Oh-kayy… This story came to me really quick, and I decided to write it down and see how it goes. I'm not really liking this chapter, so it might be discontinued. Please tell me if you want a continuation or not in a review or a message, 'cause if you don't I'll probably just take it down.**


	2. Chapter 2

When Nico got back to the house, the door was closed. He sighed, knowing what was coming next. He grabbed the doorknob and, just as he expected, found the door locked. He cursed inwardly, took a deep breath and knocked. If they let him in, he wouldn't have to resort to using his powers…

"Who is it?" came Luke's playful voice from behind the door.

"Your uncle. Now, let me in."

"Uncle? We don't have an uncle. Our parents are lonely children."

"Luke," Nico said, getting angry. This is why he never got married. "Let me in this instant, or-"

"Or, what?"

"Luke, let him in," he heard Bianca say to her brother. Bless that child, he thought…

"Chill out sis. I'll let him in. After a few hours…"

"Luke! Its freezing out there! Let him in!"

This was an exaggeration, Nico thought. The weather was getting rather cold, but it was nearing the end of March, and Nico, who's body was used to the Underworld's unnatural chill, thought it was almost warm.

"Luke, I will ask one more time," he said calmly. "Let me in."

"That wasn't a question," Luke said, stifling a laugh.

_He asked for it,_ Nico thought. He closed his eyes and willed the shadows to engulf him.

* * *

Luke was laughing his head off in the entrance hall while his sister scolded him for his actions towards their uncle.

"Luke, open that door now!" she shouted.

"Why? To see his face…" the rest of his sentence went up in a laugh.

"I really don't see what's so funny about all this."

"Oh, you wouldn't."

"Meaning what?"

"Meaning," Luke paused and looked his sister over, "you don't have any sense of humor."

Bianca's grey eyes fixed on her brother's with such intensity, his smile faltered slightly. "Say that again."

"Say what?"

"Luke!"

"What?"

"You are so infuriating!"

"Would you two shut up? I'm trying to read!" came Charlie's voice from the top of the stairs. Then they heard him scream. "AH! How did you get up here?"

"I climbed," came another voice.

Luke stopped laughing and looked at Bianca in shock. He went and unlocked the front door to see nothing but moonlight shining on the shrubs that grew all over their yard.

"Are you looking for something, Luke?" Nico said from the foot of the stairs.

Luke turned around so fast he fell over. Standing up he said, "How…you…wha—?"

"How did you get in?" Bianca blurted out.

"As I told Charlie. I climbed," Nico said simply.

Luke, recovering from his shock and determined to degrade his uncle, walked straight up to him and poked him in the chest. "Climbed what, exactly? There are no pipes that would hold your weight."

"Oh, yeah," Charlie said sarcastically from the top of the stairs. "'Cause he's just dying from obesity."

Luke reddened and turned to his brother. "No, because I tried it. And I'm sure you remember that?" he said, pointing to his scar.

"Whatever," Charlie said, rolling his eyes.

"Luke, stop interrogating our uncle. This isn't CSI," Bianca said, and turned to Nico. "Now, I'm hungry. What's for dinner?"

"I don't know. What do you want for dinner?"

Luke's face suddenly lit up. "Can we order pizza?"

"Ah, no. Your parents said homemade food only."

"Do you even know how to cook?" asked Charlie doubtfully.

"I'm a professor. What do I know about cooking?"

"How do you live if you don't know how to cook?" Luke asked.

Nico just shrugged. Truth was, he lived with his father in the underworld, where all his needs were carried out by the dead servants of Hades.

"Then what are we supposed to eat?" asked Bianca.

Nico scratched his head. "I don't know," he said again. "I was hoping you guys had leftovers from yesterday or something."

"Oh, great," Luke mumbled. "First they get us a babysitter, then they try to starve us."

"Luke, please be quiet. I'm trying to think," Nico said. Then, it came to him. "Okay, guys. Here's the deal. You go do your homework, while I cook dinner."

"You just said—" Luke began.

"I know what I said. I'll figure something out."

"_God save us_," Luke muttered. Nico, who was walking towards the kitchen, stopped abruptly. "What did you just say?" he asked quietly.

"Nothing," Luke said, and ran up the stairs.

Nico stared after him for a few seconds, then looked at Charlie and Bianca. "Ok, both of you, go do your homework while I prepare dinner."

"Already done it," Bianca said, smiling. "Can I go finish my experiment?"

"Feel free," Nico said. "But please don't blow anything up."

"I won't. Thank you!" she called and ran up the stairs after her older brother.

Finally, Nico turned to Charlie. "Well?"

"I don't have any homework," he mumbled. He turned and walked up the stairs quietly. As soon as they were all upstairs, he sighed, walked over to the kitchen, and closed the door.

"Ok, dad," he muttered to himself. "Send me some help." And then he began to chant in Ancient Greek. A few minutes later, he was surrounded by the underworld's best cooks. He smiled to himself at how easy this was going to be.

* * *

One hour after raising the dead, the kitchen was wafting with the smell of delicious food and sulfur. After sending the dead away, Nico turned up the fire on the stove and burnt an offering to Hades. Then he called the three kids down to eat.

"Guys! Dinner's ready," he called as he finished placing the Greek salad in a bowl.

He heard footsteps on the stairs as the three hungry kids ran down to claim their food. A minute later, Luke, Bianca, and Charlie were standing in the doorway of the kitchen, their faces expressing their shock.

"Dude, either you're a culinary genius, or just too modest," Luke said, already seated and helping himself to roast chicken.

"This is brilliant, Uncle," Bianca said, seating herself beside her brother.

Charlie followed his siblings quietly. He sniffed the air and gagged. "What is that smell?"

Nico looked at him worriedly. "Its probably from outside. Now come and eat."

He sat down and put some salad on his plate. Nico took a bite of the food on his own plate and had to admit the dead had good recipes. When they were all done and had cleared the table, it was already eight-thirty.

"Ok, guys," Nico said, clapping his hands together. "You should be in bed in half an hour, according to your mother. So wash up and do whatever it is you want to do, but be in bed by nine."

"But it's the weekend!" Luke protested.

"I don't make the rules. I just follow them."

Luke went back upstairs grumbling and Bianca went to take a bath, so Nico and Charlie were left alone.

Charlie turned to Nico and folded his arms across his chest. "That smell was sulfur. I recognized it from one of Bianca's vials."

Nico sighed. "Yes, it was sulfur. But not from the kitchen."

"Where would you smell sulfur from outside?"

"Where would sulfur be in the kitchen?" Nico retorted. "It was probably from Bianca's experiments."

Charlie simply turned and started up the stairs. Halfway, he stopped. "I also smelt it somewhere else. On a corpse." And with that he continued up to his room, leaving Nico more concerned than ever.

* * *

At nine o'clock, Nico went upstairs to check on the three kids. He got to Luke's door, which had a charcoal drawing of a dragon and the words 'LUKE'S ROOM. ENTER IF YOU DARE' written in cursive beneath it. Nico knocked once and opened it to find Luke sitting the floor with his headphones on and sketching something with charcoal. His hands were black from it, but he didn't seem to care. When Nico came in, he looked up and took off his headphones. "Just let me finish this, and I swear I'll go to bed."

"How long will that take?" Nico asked.

Luke held up the drawing. It was very well done, showing a Pegasus galloping through water. The water was painted and the Pegasus was done in charcoal. It looked complete to Nico, but Luke seemed to have found something to improve. "About ten minutes. Is that ok?"

"Yes, but not a minute later. Great drawing by the way."

Luke grinned. "Thanks. I'm planning to study fine art in college."

"I'm sure you'd do very well," Nico said. "Good night."

"Good night," Luke replied as Nico closed the door. He went to Bianca's room and knocked. She didn't answer, so he opened the door and found her sitting at her desk, pouring something into a vial. A chart showing the periodic table of elements hung behind her bed, taking up half of the wall. A computer sat on her bed cover.

"Bianca? Its nine o'clock."

She capped the vial and placed it on a rack. "Really? Ok, then." She took off her goggles and lab coat. "Good night uncle," she said, getting into bed. "And that dinner was really good."

Nico smiled. "I'm glad you liked it. Good night." He closed her door and went to the last room in the hall. Nico knocked and went in. Charlie was lying on his bed, reading a large book. He looked up slightly when Nico came in, then went back to it.

"What are you reading?" Nico asked.

"War and Peace," Charlie replied, without looking up.

"You like to read?" Nico asked, a bit surprised. He hadn't expected that.

"And write," Charlie said quietly. "What, you thought Luke and Bianca were the only ones who were interested in something?"

Nico sat on the edge of his bed. "No. I just think its really cool having the patience to read books. I never did."

Charlie looked surprised. "How come? You said you're a professor."

Nico smiled. "I'm dyslexic, like your brother. So its really hard for me to read books like that." He pointed at the copy of War and Peace in Charlie's hand. "And I teach music, so its not like I have to read anything besides musical notes."

"You're a musician?" Charlie asked. "What instruments do you teach?"

Nico looked at him thoughtfully. "I basically teach string music, mostly guitar and violin."

"Are you good at it?"

"I play the violin quite well. The guitar took me a while to learn to play, though."

Charlie sighed. "You're lucky to be good at something. I wish I had talents like that."

Nico frowned. "What do you mean? You are talented."

"In what, writing? No one cares about that. They care about talents like Luke's or Bianca's, the really obvious ones. The only way anyone would care about writing is if I get it published."

"What talents do Luke and Bianca have that you don't?"

"Luke's an artist. And he can handle a sword really well. Bianca…well, you saw her. She's probably the next Einstein. Me? Nothing. All I can do is write and anyone can do that."

"That's not true. The three of you are very talented, but in different ways. And not anyone can write. Believe me, I've read essays that would make your mind explode just trying to understand what the writer is trying to say. But there are always those people who are simply gifted writers, and you just might be one of them."

Charlie looked at Nico gratefully. "You really think I can become a published writer?"

"Why not? I'm sure you can do whatever you set your mind to," Nico said. "You're a special boy Charlie. More than you can ever imagine."

Charlie's eyes widened. "That's what mom and dad always say. But what's so special about me? I'm worthless. No one wants to hang out with me at school."

"Hey, you are not worthless. If people don't want to hang out with you, its their problem, not yours. And its their loss if they don't want to hang with someone like you."

Charlie smiled. "Thanks, uncle. I really appreciate you saying that."

"You're very welcome," Nico said, standing up. "Now, I'd better go. Its getting late. Good night."

"Good night, uncle." That was the last thing Nico heard as he closed the door.

Nico went back to Luke's room and opened the door. Luke was lying on his bed, still in his jeans and coat, with his headphones still on. His eyes were closed and he was breathing deeply which confirmed to Nico that he was sleeping. His finished drawing hung up on the wall next to several others.

Nico went inside and looked at Luke's other drawings. When he reached the last one, however, he frowned. He couldn't believe what he was seeing.

It was the drawing of a young man, that strongly resembled someone Nico had only ever known as the enemy. It was the drawing of Luke's namesake, Luke Castellan.


	3. Chapter 3

When Nico went downstairs, Percy and Annabeth still hadn't come back, so he went to the couch and turned on the TV. About an hour later, his eyes began to get heavy. They kept closing and before he knew it, he had dozed off.

Nico was having a very vivid dream with dragons and furies and Zeus knows what else, when he felt someone shaking him. At first he thought it was part of the dream, but as it continued he realized it wasn't. He opened his eyes to see Charlie's pale face looking back at him.

"Charlie? What's wrong? What time is it?" he said, suddenly awake.

"Its six-thirty," Charlie replied, whispering. "And mom and dad haven't come back yet."

Nico felt his stomach drop, but he tried to stay calm. "Are you sure? Did you check all the rooms?"

Charlie nodded. "Besides, if they were here, you wouldn't be."

That was true, Nico thought. Before he could say anything in reply, however, they heard a crash somewhere in the attic. Charlie jumped. "W-what was that?" he asked.

Nico stood up. "Come on. We need to go wake up your siblings." He led Charlie up the stairs and went to Bianca's room. For some reason, he felt he had to go there first. He opened the door and went over to her. Gently, he shook her. "Bianca? Wake up."

He kept saying that until she mumbled and opened her eyes wearily. When she saw him, she frowned. "Uncle? What time is it?"

"Its six-thirty, but you need to get up."

"What are you still doing here? Didn't mom and dad come back yet?"

"No, that's why you need to get up."

"But—" Another crash above them interrupted her. "What was that?"

"I don't want to wait and find out. Come on," he said, helping her up. "We need to wake Luke up."

They went out into the hallway and saw Charlie fiddling with the doorknob on Luke's door. He turned to them. "He always locks his door when he sleeps."

There was another crash, this time from inside Luke's room. They all froze and Bianca called, "Luke, is that you?"

They had to get in there. Now. "Stand back," Nico said, and pulled a sword out of his cloak. Its black blade glinted in the faint light of dawn.

As soon as he pulled it out, Charlie gasped and Bianca looked at him strangely. Nico brought down the blade, hard, down onto the hinges and broke them easily. He pushed down the door and found no one except Luke, lying down on his bed in the exact position Nico had left him. Even his headphones were still on.

Nico walked over to him and took out his headphones. "Luke, wake up." He grabbed the covers off of him and dragged him out of bed. "Hey, what's going on?" he mumbled sleepily. Then he saw him. "Dude, what are you still doing here? Where are our parents?"

"They didn't come back yet."

Luke looked outside his window and saw the light of dawn. "That's impossible. They should be here by now."

Nico was about to answer when Charlie shouted from the doorway, "Uncle! The window!"

Nico looked up instantly and saw one of the Furies perched on the window sill of Luke's bedroom. Luke looked up as well. "Dude, what is that lady doing there?"

Nico held out his sword. "What is it, Alecto?" he asked her.

"Young master, you must flee. Your father sent me to tell you to get out, before they arrive."

"Before who arrives?" he asked.

Alecto shook her head. "I do not know, he wouldn't tell me. He only sends a warning."

"Dude, why is that lady calling you 'young master'?" Luke asked, standing up.

"That's not a lady! What the heck is that?" Charlie screamed.

"You can understand her?" Bianca said to Luke incredulously.

It took Nico a minute to process what Bianca was saying. Then it hit him that they were probably speaking in ancient Greek. And Luke understood them.

"What do you mean?" Luke asked. "She's speaking plain English."

Before anyone could say anything else, a deafening roar shook the house. Alecto the Fury looked up and screeched. Nico held his sword up and ready. "Stay in the corner, all three of you," he told them. Charlie and Bianca ran over to Luke, who put a hand protectively around them.

For a minute all was quiet. It had started to rain, but that was all that could be heard. Then the roof came toppling down on them. Nico instinctively put up a protective shield of black energy around them, praying that it would hold. It did. The rubble simply bounced off and flew at a range of three feet away from them. Charlie looked up and gasped. Nico followed his gaze and groaned.

Perched on top of what was left of the roof, was a large black drakon. It would have been considered small for its type, but that didn't make it any smaller to them. Alecto was scratching at the drakon's scaly hide and Nico was just about to throw his sword at it, when he heard more screeching. He looked to his left and saw a small army of dracaena coming at them.

Luke, Bianca, and Charlie were all screaming in terror. Nico didn't know what Luke and Bianca saw, but it must have been terrifying. He left the shield and started slashing at the dracaena with every ounce of energy he had left in him. Charlie was trying to help him.

"Uncle, watch out! To your left!" he shouted. Nico slashed and slammed and stabbed maybe fifty of them, but they just kept coming. The drakon was trying to get rid of Alecto and her two sisters, who had now joined her. It was raining heavily and Nico could hardly see a thing.

"Uncle! I can help you!" he heard Luke shout from behind the shield. "I'm a good fighter!"

"No!" Nico shouted back, stabbing another dracaena. "You have to stay safe!"

"You need help! If anything happens to you, we won't be."

He had a point, Nico thought. "Ok, draw your weapon. I'm going to let the shield down for a second, so you can come here. Run as fast as you can, because I can't keep it down for long!"

"Ok!"

Nico stabbed another three, and saw his chance. But the instant he let down his shield, one of the closer dracaena grabbed Bianca and ran towards the hole in the wall.

"NO! BIANCA!" all three of them shouted. Luke ran after her and tried to grab his sister, but the dracaena slashed at his arm with her sword. "No!" he screamed. As if they'd gotten what they wanted, the dracaena and the drakon all retreated and left. In a second they were gone, and Nico, Luke, and Charlie were all staring after them in dismay.

"No! No, Bianca!" Luke shouted. Nico couldn't be sure from the rain, but he seemed to be crying. Charlie just stood there, dumbfounded.

"Alecto!" Nico shouted. The three Furies came up to him. He turned to them. "Find her. Find her, or I swear Hades will curse you." The three of them bowed. "Yes, young master," they said together, and flew off.

Nico turned to the two boys. "We have to leave. Now."

"Our sister has just been taken by a snake thing!" Charlie said. "We have to find her, we have to—"

"We have to leave and find a safer place. Then we can talk."

"Can someone please explain to me what just happened?" Luke said.

Nico sighed. He had to tell them. "Ok, sit down and I'll tell you everything." He had put up the shield again, so the rain repelled off of them.

And so he did. About their parents and the monsters that Charlie was able to see. Why Charlie could see them and Luke can't. When he was done, they just looked at him.

"That explains so much," Charlie said. He was staring at his shaking hands.

"A-are you one?" Luke asked. "A half-blood, I mean."

Nico looked at him. "Yes, I am."

"Who's your Olympian parent?" Charlie asked.

Nico looked at them uncertainly. They were sure to freak out if he told them, but their sister had just been taken away, so he did.

"Hades," he said simply.

"Wait. Isn't that the god of the underworld?" Luke asked.

"Yes, he is."

"Dude, that explains so much," Luke said. "Does that mean you can see dead people?"

"Dead people don't roam the earth. When a person dies, their ghost goes straight to the underworld."

"Awesome," Luke said. Considering what he had just told them, Nico thought he was taking it rather well. Charlie, of course, was downright relieved.

"So, those things," Charlie said, "the ones that you told to search for Bianca, what were they?"

"Furies. Servants to Hades, my father."

"That's why they called you young master!" Luke said.

"Yes. Luke, do you know ancient Greek?"

"Um, no."

"Yes, you do. Because I just said that in ancient Greek."

"What? No way." he looked at Charlie, who nodded. "Are you saying I know a language I've never learned?"

"That's what it looks like," Nico said. He stood up and let down the shield. "Now, come on, both of you. We've spent too much time here. Grab anything important, and meet me downstairs in an hour." As he was leaving, he saw the picture of the young man Luke had drawn. Without hesitation, he took it and stuffed it inside his cloak.

An hour later, the three of them met downstairs. They had all taken showers, and Nico had bandaged Luke's arm. Charlie had grabbed food and water from the kitchen and left a note on the fridge, just in case.

"Ok, I think we're ready," he said.

Nico nodded. He turned to Luke. "Do you have an extra weapon for Charlie? We're going to need them."

At this, Luke grinned. "Follow me." He led them to a black door beneath the stairs. He fiddled with the lock for a minute, then opened it. "Check it out."

He flicked a switch and the lights came on. It was the basement, but Percy and Annabeth seemed to have turned it into an armory. Sword, bows, arrows, shields and even spears hung on every inch of the grey wall. There was even a corner for target practice.

"Excellent," Nico said. After letting Charlie try a few weapons, he chose a sword and shield that he felt comfortable with. They grabbed a few extra weapons and shields and, finally, left the house.

"Where are we going?" Luke asked, as they put everything in Annabeth's car. There were two cars. One was taken, and the other, the one they were taking, was left in the garage.

"I don't know yet," Nico replied, getting in the front while Luke sat next to him. Charlie sat in the back. Then it hit him. "I have an idea. I know someone who can help us."

"Who?" the boys asked together.

"A friend. She's very good at…finding things." And with that, they drove off towards their next destination.


	4. Chapter 4

"Are we there yet?" Luke groaned from the back seat. He and Charlie had switched places about a million times, driving Nico insane. They had been driving for about three hours and it was still raining. The streets were completely flooded and the windshield was so soaked Nico was driving at 10 mph just so he wouldn't crash.

"No, Luke, we aren't there yet. Just like we weren't there about five minutes ago," he replied through gritted teeth.

"This is so boring," Charlie said, turning on the radio. Adam Young's voice came blaring out of it.

"What is this?" Luke asked, leaning on the back of Charlie's seat.

"Owl City," Charlie replied.

"Ugh. Change it," Luke replied, getting back to his previous lying position in the back.

"Uh, no. I happen to like Owl City."

"Well, I happen not to like him," Luke retorted, standing up and changing the station. A rock song came on, the exact type of music Luke loved to hear.

"Perfect," he said, and lay back in his seat.

"No, not perfect," Charlie said, and changed the station back to Owl City.

"Hey!" Luke stood up again and changed the station back to the rock song, right before Charlie changed it back to Owl City. Soon, the two siblings were having an all-out radio battle.

"_You and I left our troubles far behind—"_

"_All alone he turns to stone—"_

"_For all my pals who live—"_

"_Terrified at what's inside—"_

"…_who needs anemones."_

"…_like a worm from a bird."_

"ENOUGH!" Nico shouted, switching the radio off. "Luke, sit down. Gods, can't you guys just pick one station that you both agree on?"

"No," they both said at the same time.

"Fine. Then you can spend the rest of the way without music."

"Where are we going, anyway? Its been, like, three hours!" Luke said, burying his head into the back of the front seat.

"Well, I've made a few calls when you were both asleep," Nico said looking at his phone. "Apparently, she's moved to Canada."

"We're going to Canada?" Luke said, groaning. "Dude, how long is it to Canada? And aren't we supposed to be looking for our parents?"

Nico sighed. "I know, but I really have no clue where they are. I've thought of a million places in my mind that they might have gone, but I doubt they're anywhere even remotely close to any of them. The only place I can think of going right now is Canada."

"To your friend," Charlie said.

"She's your parents' friend too, you know," Nico said, glancing sideways at him.

"So, what's her name, this friend?" Luke asked.

"Rachel," Nico replied. He took out his wallet and showed him a picture of her.

"Wow, she's pretty," Luke said. Then he smiled slyly at Nico. "Why do you have a picture of her in your wallet?"

Nico rolled his eyes. "Because she's my friend, as I just mentioned. And I have pictures of all of my friends, not just her."

"Are they all girls?"

"Yes. Happy?"

"Sweet!" Luke said, continuing to examine the wallet. "Hey, who's this?" he asked holding up another photo. This one was rather old, taken the day Nico had graduated from school. He was standing in front of his old school, smiling up at the camera. He had his arm around a girl of about fifteen, who was laughing. The girl had spiky black hair and electric blue eyes. Luke was pointing at her.

"Where'd you get that?" Nico asked. It was one of his favorite photos and was happy to see it wasn't lost like he'd thought.

"From your wallet. So, who is she? Your girlfriend?"

Nico almost gagged. The idea of Thalia being his…girlfriend, was just disturbing. "No. Just another friend."

"Who's a girl."

"Honestly, Luke, don't you have friends who are girls? Just friends?" Nico asked, trying to find the exit he was looking for on the road. The rain had eased up, but it was still pretty difficult to see through.

"Nah. All the girls love me," he said, going back to the wallet. "Dude, seriously, what is it with you and girls?" he said holding up yet another picture. Nico gave the current photo in Luke's hand a glance and had the sudden urge to grab it. It was the picture of a girl with olive skin and dark silky hair. Her eyes were black but kind.

"Luke, put that away, and stop prying."

"I'm not prying. I just want to know who all your girl friends are."

"That's not a friend," Nico said quietly, suddenly very interested in the road.

"Oh. That's your sister isn't it?" Luke asked. Apparently, his parents had told him about Bianca.

Nico nodded. Charlie took the picture and looked at it. "You know, she's very pretty," he said.

"Thank you, Charlie," Nico said, smiling. "Luke, please sit down. I can't see."

"Ok," he said, still looking through the wallet. He had found a group of photos and was now looking through them. "Ha. Mom and Dad looked so young!" he said. Nico sighed and kept driving. It was extremely boring to drive for so long, but at least Luke and Charlie's presence kept him awake.

"Is this another of your 'just friends'?" Luke asked, holding up another photo. It was a photo of a girl in her mid-twenties with long black hair stuffed under a furry hat. There was snow all around her and she was standing under a dead tree, but she was smiling widely, her arms folded across her chest. Her warm brown eyes shone from the camera flash.

"Ok, Luke, enough snooping. Put the photos away—"

"Why? Who is she?"

"None of your business. Now stop asking questions and give me back my wallet."

Luke turned the photograph and saw a name written on the back of it. "Emma," he read out loud.

Nico stiffened. "Luke, I mean it. Give me back my wallet."

Luke wasn't happy, but he handed his uncle his wallet back. "Thank you. Now sit still, so I can figure out the way."

"How much time left?" Charlie groaned.

Nico looked at the clock on the dashboard. "About five hours of driving. Oh, and Charlie? Time to switch with Luke."

"An hour can't have passed!"

"Well, it did. And perfect timing, too," he said, just as he drove straight into a traffic jam.

* * *

"I'm hungry," Luke said, for the tenth time that minute. "How long have we been stuck here?"

"About an hour," Nico said, leaning on the steering wheel. Charlie had fallen asleep ages ago, so Nico was left with loquacious Luke for company.

"Does that mean we only have four hours left?" Luke asked hopefully.

"No. As long as we're not moving, it still means we have five hours driving time."

"Oh." Luke looked out of the window and wiped the vapor off of it with his sleeve. Then he turned back to Nico. "Do you have a paper and pen?"

"I have a pen," Nico replied, taking it out. "But no paper. Sorry."

"No problem. I'll just use a tissue." He grabbed one and started sketching on it.

About half an hour later, they still hadn't budged. Nico sighed and glanced at Luke. He was finishing up his sketch.

"I noticed you like drawing people," he said.

"Oh, yeah. I find it easier than drawing abstract," Luke replied.

Nico found this a good time to ask about the drawing of the young man. "Luke, I saw this hanging on your wall," he said, taking it out from under his cloak. "Did you copy it from a photograph?"

Luke took the picture and shrugged. "Nah. I had a dream about him." He looked at Nico. "Wait, why? I-is this a real person?"

Luke had gone completely white, and he looked scared. "Luke, are you alright?" Nico asked worriedly.

"Y-yeah. Its just that…." His voice trailed off.

"What?"

"Well, its just that the dream I had about him was…well, disturbing."

Nico shifted uncomfortably. "Disturbing like how?

Luke took a deep breath. "H-he was, like, in this golden coffin, and he looked dead. He even had this hole in his chest. Then he suddenly rises and opens his eyes, and they're golden. I was ok with all of that until he spoke. His voice was creepy, man, and it didn't seem to suit him. It was like rock scraping on metal." He shuddered.

Nico was the one who was scared now. He hadn't been there when it happened, but it was exactly as Percy described it to him. The rising of Kronos. But Luke wasn't there. He had never heard the story before, nor had he seen any pictures of him.

He tried to relax, because Luke was now looking really scared. "Its ok. It was just a dream. There's nothing to worry about."

They sat in silence for a while, until Luke broke it. "Who's Emma?" he asked suddenly.

"Just someone I met a long time ago," Nico replied, his grip tightening on the steering wheel. This was one subject he did not want to talk about.

"She seems to be more than just someone."

"Leave it, Luke."

"Why? I hate it when adults don't tell me things," Luke muttered.

Nico looked at Luke's angry face, and thought how frustrating it must be not knowing things.

"Look, Luke," he said gently. "I would tell you anything, but not this. Ok?"

Luke's expression softened. "Ok. I'm sorry I was being so nosy."

"Don't be. How else would you know anything?" Nico smiled. "Yes. Finally, we're moving."

At this, Luke looked up excitedly. "Cool. Can we get something to eat now?"

"Yes, as soon as we get past the next intersection."

"How far is that?"

"About fifteen minutes away."

"No!"

* * *

As soon as they had gotten to the intersection, Nico turned a few rights and lefts and managed to find a Starbucks. When he got there, both boys seemed to wake up from their naps.

"Where are we?" Charlie asked sleepily.

"Starbucks. Now, come on."

"This isn't food!" Luke cried. "They don't even have good coffee."

"Look, I know you want a real breakfast, but this is the best I could find."

"Dude, do you even know the way to Canada?" Luke got out of the car and slammed the door shut. Charlie and Nico followed, rolling their eyes.

They entered the shop and Nico told Luke and Charlie to sit down while he got their orders. He turned to the lady behind the counter and told her what they wanted.

"Alright. Anything else, sir?" she asked him.

"Oh, no thank you," he replied, smiling. He was just standing there behind the counter, waiting for their 'breakfast', when he noticed the TV hanging up on the wall above him. There was a breaking news report, and the reporter was saying into the microphone, _"…center burned down, where a party was being held by the company. None were found dead, though many were severely injured. A couple also went missing after the commotion, and are now identified as Percy and Annabeth Jackson. Searches have led to no sign of them up until now…"_

Nico just stared at the TV with his mouth hanging open. So that's what had happened to them…

"Sir?" the lady was saying. "That'll be $13.95."

Nico looked at her and said, "Wha—? Oh, ok." He fished out of his cloak the money and gave it to her. "Keep the change."

He went back to Luke and Charlie and sat down. "Did you see that news report?" he asked them.

"Yeah, man," Luke answered. "A fire? I can't believe it."

"But where are they?" Charlie asked.

"I don't know, but we'd better find them fast."

* * *

Five hours of constant driving left Nico feeling like a soul in the Fields of Asphodel; bored, tired, and bored. Then, like an oasis in a desert, the Canada-US border appeared in front of him. "Guys, I need you to get under the seats. Now."

"What? Why?" Luke asked.

"Because you're not my kids. I need permission from your parents to get you across, and, obviously, I don't. So I need to hide you."

They did as they were told and got under the seats. Before Nico got to the border services booth, he opened the trunk and rolled down the car windows. He'd gone through the border like this only once before, and it was not an experience he'd like to repeat.

When he got to the booth, he looked up at the officer standing there. Relief and shock spread through him. "Ben?" he asked incredulously. He was another half-blood he had met in university, and a really good friend.

"Nico?" he laughed. "Nico di Angelo? Well, I'll be. Its been what, ten years?"

"Longer, I think. I didn't know you worked here."

"I don't, really. I'm just covering for a friend," Ben said, looking at Nico like he was a miracle. "You haven't changed a bit. Exactly as I remember you."

"Same to you, Ben. Look, any chance you can get me through? Because I'm probably breaking a lot of the border rules."

Ben smirked. "You're hiding something aren't you?"

"As always. So, can you?"

"Tell you what. I'll just see your passport, and I'll leave you on your way."

"Thank you," Nico said, showing him the passport. "I hope to see you soon, ok Ben?"

Ben gave another laugh. "As soon as you're done with whatever mess you're in, I'll let you buy me dinner."

"Right. Got it." And he drove through the border just like that.

"Who was that?" Charlie said, getting out from under the seat. Luke also got out and was brushing himself off.

"An old friend of mine from university. Really nice guy."

"So, we're in Canada, eh?" Luke said, smiling.

"Yes we are," Nico replied. "And things are about to get seriously complicated."

**A/N I didn't like this chapter much. Its pretty boring, I know, but they weren't magically going to appear in front of Rachel's house, and I don't think she would have stayed in the Big House or the cave all this time. She would get too bored :D Anyways, if anyone knows what songs Luke and Charlie were fighting about, please mention it in a review or something. Or not. Whatever you want. (I thought it was funny that I picked those songs. Anyone guess why?)**


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